BC Casino Deal Questioned
The Vancouver Sun has reported on links between a donation made by T. Richard Turner to the Liberal Party, and the fact that his company was eventually named as the top bidder to service the newly proposed BC casino and hotel.
The newspaper showed that Turner, a Liberal himself, used his family company to make a $50,000 donation to the Party only two months before he was named as preferred bidder.
It has been revealed that this is the largest donation ever made by Turner or his companies to the political party. It was shown in the last four years, a total of $20,000 had been made overall.
Spencer Chandra Herbert of the New Democratic Party said: "I just think it stinks. Whether or not it was a direct influence on the BC Casino negotiations, for the average taxpayer, they look at that thing and it smells."
What is important to note is that the donation was made during the time that PavCo (which operations BC Place) was asking for applications for bids to have the land next to the stadium developed into a casino and mega hotel.
In response, Turner has strongly denied any links between his generous donation and his success in the bidding process to build the new BC Casino.
"There's absolutely no connection between the donation we chose to give the Liberal Party in the election, and any business opportunity or any business interest I have, period." he said.
Herbert questioned how a decision on a project that will cost $450 million to build was made so quickly by the Crown.
"That's a pretty quick turnaround for a decision this large," he noted.
